hello i have been banded a little over a month now and am going to get my first fill soon. my dr.does the fills with fluoroscopy so he can see how restricted you are. my question is does that work alot better than just going in and having them guess how much to put in? alot of people i talk to don't have the fluoroscopy durring thier fills.im just hoping that i will have good restriction after my first fill since he is using this method to do my fill. thanx:)

OMG yes, it's better if your insurance covers it and that's how your doc does it! The doc will have you swallow barium so you are able to see it going down and will be able to decide if you're restricted, not enough or too much and is able to take care of it then. Instead of filling without seeing the restriction level, you are actually able to see it, which reduces the chances of overfill (most of the time).

Good luck.

thank you so much! i have heard of alot of people having to get 4-5 fills to feel good restriction and i was hoping that it wont be like that using fluoroscopy!! thanx again:)

Well keep in mind that everyone is different and this band is a tricky thing. I too get my fills under fluroscopy. I have had 2 fills. Sometimes the swelling or time of day when you're getting the fill makes a difference. You may feel really restricted and it will appear on the screen, but swelling may go down and you might find that you may need to go in for another fill. That happened to me. I had 3.8 ccs put in the first time, then I was feeling hungry between meals and went in for another. The doc looked at my level and he said I had pretty good restriction, but I got him to "top me off" and I ended up getting another .8 ccs That was 2/25 and it seems to be doing the trick. I did make another appointment (two weeks from now) just to check my levels, since I am not feeling like I used to (after the second fill, I didn't even want to eat--now I find myself looking for food).

Just wanted to be sure you had realistic expectations going into this. While fluoro will get you to restriction a little faster, you may not just be "one and done" :-)

When's your fill? Good luck!

The doctor can see the level of restriction, but that does not necessarily translate into a lasting level of restriction that you'll perceive as your sweet spot.

Some people really do feel quite a bit from their first fill. A few find that it does the trick.

But most seem to feel very little difference from the first fill. There is a difference--but our pouches still empty too fast for us to really notice a difference in our hunger levels.

This usually tapers down over a few fills. Fluoro or not.

My doctor does use fluoro for all fills. I had my third about 10 days ago--and do feel restriction now. It's starting to dissipate a bit, though, so I suspect Fill #4 will be necessary.

It's worth the wait :thumbup:

Hang in there!

My doc does not use fluoro unless there's been a problem. With my first fill I felt amazing restriction for a few days which then eased up...it was better than pre-fill but not great. My second gave me restriction for about a week and then again eased up...still better than before that fill...My third was 3 weeks ago and is still a tad too tight, I can drink fine but food is not my friend...it eases up a bit every day but I've postponed my 4th fill from next week to next month.

So....morale of the story? It just depends! Betsy and I are both at three fills, she has hers with fluoro, I have mine without, and overall we're in pretty similar places....

Either way it takes a little time, each fill seems to help but try not to set your expectations too high or you're likely going to be disappointed. Good luck!

Michael:

A good Surgeon will almost always use a Fluoroscope when performing fills. Some Doctors do not use them, because of the added time and expense, but, personally, I would not utilize a facility that did NOT use the process.

It is really in your best interests for the Doctor to take advantage of the technology to obtain a more "granular" indication of your restriction level.

As far as how long it takes to arrive at the optimum level of restriction for YOU, well, that is very, very individual . I have known patients who had the Lap Band installed and went on to lose all the weight they needed with NO fills, but I have also known others who were filled to the specified capacity and never did achieve the "sweet spot". So, there are a lot of variables, and your personal response to the Lap Band cannot be predicted with any real precision.

You need to think of the Lap Band as merely a component in a larger matrix that includes actions, behaviors, attitudes, and the committment to MAKE it work. It's just a piece of Silicone; It provides an ASSIST to the patient in controlling eating. But it, in and of itself, is not the answer.

YOU are the answer.

S.

thanks to all of you for giving me some information about this. i really do apreciate it!!